Quick Feet Help in Parking Trailers with this Machine

Blog commentary by Tom Berg, Senior Contributing Editor

This operator moves briskly as he backs a trailer into a parking slot. The Electrotrekker is battery-electric powered. Photos: Tom Berg, from Verhagen video

“OK, Gus. Park that yard-goat tractor against the fence cuz we’re gonna sell it. Get down outta there and hoof it from now on. Because we just bought you a V-Move Electrotrekker It’s a walk-behind (and -ahead) gizmo from Verhagen Leiden, an outfit in Holland, and you control it like a pallet jack. It’s got plenty of power from a 4-kilowatt, 36-volt AC motor and its big battery pack will keep you hoppin’ all day.

“Yeah, it saves us money, but it’s part of our new employee physical fitness program and the exercise will do you good!”

That’s one way the machine that’s demonstrated on this Facebook clip could be introduced to a driver. Sure, Gus isn’t going to operate the thing over long, er, treks within giant 200-door terminals. But it’s ideal for squeezing semitrailers in and out of tight loading spots and parking them where regular tractors can get at them.

The Dutchman in the video really whips the trailers around, and note that he walks as fast backwards as he does forward. Maybe he’s in Iron Man training, and considers the Electrotrekker a fringe benefit.

A couple viewers of the Facebook video noted that there are no air hookups, and they'd be needed to release a North American-spec trailer's brakes for movement. This demo is in Europe, but if the product were to be sold here, it'd need air lines and a compressor, which would sap power from the battery pack. Also, any operating surface would have to be smooth and fairly level.

The Dutch device can move a trailer weighing up to 20 tons, according to the company's website.

The video has no narration or even music. But details on the device are at Verhagen's website. It comes up in Dutch, but a "Translate" button should appear and the words will turn into English. It's a kick.